Abscindo Magicae
by Tailsandroses
Summary: "Do you think I had much of a choice to keep her in this world! She is the most pure thing I have left" This world wasn't worth living in... until she arrived. P/W DARK THEMES
1. A spell most evil

**Disclaimer: I own nothing bar the plot**

 **Prologue**

Her heels echoed off the walls, the sound muffled by the downpour. The woman kept her head down, her cloak protecting her face, where bold red lips and pale cheeks kept their identity secret. She held hands with a young man. His posture appeared stoic, his face was grim. Droplets trailed down his face and his blonde hair limp on his forehead. Like the woman in front of him, he also adorned in black. The woman looked over her shoulder and she reached back for his hand, her slender fingers glowed in the dusk and the young man held tight.

"Keep your head high, my darling. This will be over soon" She said, there was a slight tremble in her voice. The young man kept quiet, his posture drooped slightly, he sighed resignedly.

"Draco" she turned towards him, "talk to me please, I need to know how you're feeling."

Draco looked up. "Mother, I am fine. This is my duty remember, they are inferior. It means nothing to me"

Narcissa stared into his eyes, hoping for some sort of waver, some internal affliction her son was potentially feeling. But she saw nothing. She turned and continued walking. The street was growing darker and windows begun to throw a yellow glow onto the cobbled street. Scenes of families played behind curtains and panes, people were having dinner, reading books and others preparing for bed. Conversations and music drifted out onto the street, and for a short moment Draco almost forgot about the terrors waiting ahead.

It had been months since he had time to sit and read a book, or have dinner without a Death Eater or two joining after a hard days work rounding up Mudbloods, half-bloods and those who rebelled against the regime.

For a boy of eighteen, he looked closer to twenty-five. The conflicts had aged them all, his once lean flawless skin was now a canvas of war. Scars of all shapes and sizes marred his pale skin each accompanied with their own horrors. His hair had grown out, it hung around his shoulders and despite the resemblance to his father, Draco did not have the heart to cut it. Why try and change back to the short clean cut of his youth. The war had changed him, what once small amount of humour, hope, and life he had in his years at Hogwarts was all but gone.

They were so convinced the Order were going to overcome, for a while he was even relieved with the thought. Yet Voldemort overcame, bringing in followers from Eastern Europe and beyond, he infiltrated the ministry and the real horrors began. There were rumors flying around, that Voldemort had yet a new and improved plan on how to deal with the 'vermin' that plagued magical society. Only few so far knew the exact details, one being Aunt Bella who pranced around his house gleefully gushing about such events which she (ever so sadly) could not tell. Her glee was abated fast with the invite of the Malfoys to a private meeting with the Dark Lord himself. He had requested for Draco specifically.

Narcissa knocked on the large double doors and stepped back. The building was nothing special, a modern townhouse, greying walls merged into other townhouses to the left and right. It was a strange place to hold a meeting, but in such chaotic times, to be unpredictable was safer. The door creaked and opened, and a silhouette of a man shadowed the doorway. He held his wand high in anticipation.

"Good evening Narcissa" the man greeted.

"Roldophus, I presume my husband is already here" she replied, her tone was sharp.

"Arrived a while ago, come in" He moved out of the light and into the foyer. The foyer was cold and empty. The house appeared to be a temporary settlement. Draco followed behind his mother silently, with Roldophus taking the lead. They came to a staircase and began to climb, the first floor appeared to be empty and they continued on. The second was slightly creepier, a mournful wailing could be heard behind closed doors, it smelt damp and mold was covering the walls. Draco crinkled his nose in distaste and continued on.

The next floor held the congregation, a long table was placed in the middle. At the head sat Voldemort, Nagini was curled up on the table in front of him, eying the new arrivals.

"My Lord" Roldophus said bowing his head slightly "Narcissa and Draco Malfoy have arrived."

Voldemort slowly stood, his skeletal arms held out in welcome. "Come in Narcissa, Draco" He breathed. His voice quiet but powerful, his red eyes gazed upon their entry. It appeared as an invite, but Draco knew better. It was an order.

The three approached the table, Roldophus taking place next to Bellatrix and the two Malfoys besides Lucius. There were only ten at the table, including Nagini. What was to be discussed was only for the most loyal and respected Death Eaters.

"Now that we have all arrived" Voldemort began. Draco noticed Bellatrix inch forwards in anticipation. "I have finally finished all the details of my new regime. As you know we have had total control of the Ministry and Britain for the past year, however, the Order is slowly regaining power and convincing more to join their side."

A few at the table spat in disgust, Bella cried out "kill them!" Nagini lifted her head and hissed loudly, the table took this as their queue to quiet again.

"Nevertheless," he continued "I have spent many months, trialing a new method of subduing those who oppose, many efforts were made, and many died in trial. In the end, it worked. Roldolphus, if you please" Voldemort motioned to a door to the right of the room. Roldophus got up quickly and headed to the door. It reopened and a person floated through the door and into the room with Roldolphus at the rear, his wand held high towards the person.

It was a young woman, her skin bore months of torture and deprivation. Her face was sallow and she looked over the crowd with wide terrified eyes. She floated towards the middle of the table and stopped, Roldolphus sat down. All eyes turned from the woman back to Voldemort.

"Eleanor Revesby" He began "A half-blood from Kent. Rowle captured her a few months ago trying to hide her children from the raids. My regime involves a new form of oppression, the removal of ones' magic-"

"M-my Lord" Bellatrix bowed her head and whimpered.

"What is it fool?" He sneered, clearly annoyed at the interruption.

"How can you remove ones magic?" She queried, her eyes shifting between Eleanor and Voldemort.

"Our magical abilities are attached to our cores, it is its own living life form, connected to ours. It lives off us, just as we live off it. A form of energy evolved over centuries to become part of our lives. After much deliberation I have been able to create a spell that separates the magical energy from the beings core."

"What happens to the being?" Lucius enquired.

"I will show you" He stated.

Voldemort lifted his wand towards Eleanor, his eyes flashed red and he drew a short but complex pattern with his wand, the tip of his wand began to glow red. Suddenly, he cried " _Abscindo Magicae!"_ Eleanor's body fell to the table and she began to convulse, her screams pierced the air and a fair few at the table cringed, moving their chairs back ever so slightly. Voldemort muttered a quick " _Silencio"._

Despite the sudden silence the pain was evident, her back was arched and spasms wracked her frail body. One of her legs twisted underneath her, moving at a wrong angle and bruising fast. Her mouth was open mid-scream, she had bitten down on her tongue and blood pooled in the corners. It was black in colour and suggested deep internal injury. Her eyes were squeezed shut with tears streaming down her face. Her skin was clammy and a sheen of sweat spread across her forehead.

The group watched on as a red light began to glow around her body. Suddenly her body went rigid and a red ball of light left her mouth, it floated above her mouth, crackling and alive. Voldemort summoned it with his wand and forced it into a vile. The magic hummed inside, pushing against the sides of the vile, determined to be released.

Eleanor's body went limp and Voldemort lifted the silencing charm. She had lost consciousness. Everyone stared, the group seemed slightly in shock, besides Bellatrix. She began cackling and prodded the woman with her wand.

"She is now a mere squib, useless to our world. Just like she always was meant to be" Voldemort stated "I will be teaching a select group of you how to administer this spell. As we speak camps are being set up across the country where we will start sending all the inferiors of our society. From there we will begin to remove their magic."

"Why not just kill them all" Bellatrix gushed, she leant forwards, placing her hand on Voldemort's arm. He looked down at her hand in disgust and she quickly removed it and placed it back on her lap.

"Because despite tainting our society we can use them to better ourselves, slave labour" He replied.

The table murmured in agreement.

"And what will we do with all the stored up magic?" Roldophus asked.

"It will be held in a secret location, I have further use of the excess magic, something to help maintain power" His face showed determination, he would not be beaten.

"Draco" Voldemort faced him, "You are one of my youngest followers and thus I believe that it is your duty to be one of the oppressors. What say you?" He stared at Draco intently.

Draco gulped and hesitated. He felt his father nudge him under the table coercing him to reply.

"I would be honored my Lord" He replied

"You made the right decision, now Lucius, we will need to use Malfoy Manor as a training ground for the select few to practice on people without interruption."

"O-of course my Lord" Lucius stuttered. Draco looked down and rolled his eyes slightly, his father was a disgrace to the name of Malfoy. He acted to loyal and proud of his beliefs yet cowered under the gaze of the Dark Lord, it was a miracle that Voldemort looked past his father's stupidity to allow him to step up in the ranks so quickly.

Voldemort rose and looked down at Eleanor, still limp and out on the table.

"Draco, kill her" He ordered.

Narcissa inhaled a sharp breathe and looked at Draco with wide eyes. His father looked on, attempting to conceal his relief, relief that he wasn't ordered to do the job. Draco remained impassive, she was beneath him, dirty, she wasn't worth a second thought.

He pulled his wand out, glaring down at her body and yelled the killing curse. The room was overcome with green light and the woman's chest stopped rising and falling. Voldemort turned and began towards the door. "Come, Nagini" He called. She left the table and slithered after her master.

"You bring pride to the name of Malfoy, my nephew" Bellatrix cooed "although you could try playing with your victim, leaves more satisfaction" She added as an afterthought.

The room began to clear out, yet Draco remained, staring down at the lifeless form. He had killed before, but this was the first he had killed that hadn't been able to retaliate. Her magic was gone, if alive she would have gone from a magical being to living like a squib for the rest of her existence. How miserable. Voldemort really had outdone himself on being the most sadistic, evil person to walk the Earth.

"Draco, let's go" Narcissa called, she and Lucius were waiting at the door. He walked slowly over to the door, following in their wake. He turned one last time at her lifeless body. He wondered who was going to dispose of her body, _what did they do to her children and her husband?_ He thought.

He turned around.

 _Wait a minute_ he thought.

 _I couldn't care less._

* * *

 **Been a while since I have written any fanfiction, so excuse any awkwardness but my style is rusty. Trialing a new concept, hoping that this will lead into something more so we shall see. Let me know if you like it.**


	2. Draco's task

Hermione, Ron and Harry resided at Grimmauld Place, their school life lost in the past. When they were not out on a mission with the Order, Hermione would close herself in the Library. Pouring over any book she could get her hands on, with each death she became more and more reclusive. Her fiery bravado attitude was still evident, it pushed from her core in every battle, creating a whirlwind of danger that every Death Eater had come to fear. Ron and Harry were not far behind, but their wand work was not at the same level and more often than not found themselves with one or more injuries from each battle than Hermione.

It was on this afternoon that Hermione was again curled up on a couch in the Library pouring over another book. Her hand was unwashed and splayed around her face in a crazy frizz, only her forehead was visible behind the large tome labelled _'Magicke for the Dark and Daring'_. Her mission over the past year was quite ambitious. Fighting fire with fire.

She had spent so long arguing that there was hope for Death Eaters, that they could use simple stunning and body binding curses and lock them up, they might change sides and see the wrong in the world. She fought for justice not for brutality. But the death toll rose, and in the midst of one particular battle, Dolohov; who she had stunned only moments before awoke and killed Dean Thomas. She couldn't save him. That memory would remain forever more clear as though it was just yesterday.

 _A jet of purple light left Dolohov's wand, she saw it travel towards Dean from the corner of her eye. "Dean! Look out!" She screamed. He didn't hear in time, he turned and looked at her just as the curse struck. He fell, dark stains spreading fast across his torso._

 _Hermione felt herself shake with rage, she turned towards Dolohov, but he had already moved on. She ran to Dean's body and held his head in her hands. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry" She cried. Her tears splashing his face, creating little splotches on his grimy, blood encrusted cheeks. "I-I'll fix it, don't worry. You will be fine" She whimpered._

 _She ripped off what was left of his shirt, his torso was unrecognizable. Blood pooled in the gashes, they were deep and dark. His organs could be seen in the large gash across his stomach. Hermione screamed in agony, she couldn't fix this, he would die in a matter of seconds. She lifted his head delicately and placed it in her lap, his eyes were open looking up at her, his breath was coming in short shallow puffs. "You are so brave Dean, so brave" she whispered to him._

 _It was a miracle she hadn't been hit in these moments, she had completely forgotten about the battle around them. She didn't care anymore. Dean gurgled, blood was leaking out his mouth staining his teeth red. He attempted to say something to her, but it was futile. He couldn't breathe through the blood. Slowly his eyes lost focus on her, his breathing slowed and stopped and his body went limp in her arms._

 _Hermione let out a howl, at the same time a curse grazed her arm spreading a fire through her body. But she didn't want to get up, she didn't want to leave him. This was her fault._

" _Hermione get up!" Harry screamed running towards her. Behind him a group of Death Eaters were approaching, sending curses every which way towards the scattered Order members. Their masks glowed in the light of the curses. They didn't have a care in the world._

 _Harry grabbed her arm and pulled her up, she stumbled. Her vision still blurry from crying. They ran as fast as they could, avoiding the oncoming curses._

" _It's time to go" Harry yelled at her. He was cut badly, blood flowed from his forehead and down his face._

" _We can't leave them!" She screamed back._

" _We have to or we will die" He yelled back, his eyes pleaded with her. Next to her two more Order members collapsed, their chests bearing full impact of the curses. They got to the nearest apparition point, Hermione looked back towards Dean. But he was lost somewhere in the sea of Death Eaters._

 _Would anyone retrieve his body? What were we going to tell Seamus?_

 _She let out a strangled sob, and with a crack the two of them left._

That was nine months ago. The guilt had wracked her constantly. She hadn't woken up a single day without her first thought being the stupidity of her actions. However, she was a fighter. Deans' death would mean nothing, have no impact if she spent the rest of her life in a depressive guilt. A month after he passed, she got up one morning, went straight to the library and began to learn.

She spent hours and hours, going through tomes. Learning incantations and practicing them in an empty room upstairs. Her determination spread through the house, eventually Harry, Ron and a few other members joined in her practice sessions. Their strength was growing, their knowledge gaining. Within a few months, Hermione had become a walking dark arts spell book.

She had rules to her sorcery. Dark magic was only used against those who inflicted dark magic on them. Which wasn't too hard to follow when in a battle against Death Eaters; and death was a last resort. She hated using dark magic. But it was the price you had to pay in war, the rules she imposed on herself were some of the only things keeping her sane.

Hermione jumped as a knock rang loud and clear.

"Come in" She called out.

"It's just me" Harry peered around the door "may I join?" he asked coming further into the room.

"Of course, you don't have to ask" She gave him a small smile and moved down the couch.

Harry closed the door behind him and walked over to the couch, they sat at each end in silence. It was a peaceful silence, sometimes words did not need to be exchanged to understand the importance one is to another.

"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked. She put her book down and turned towards him, she brought her knees up to her chest and leant her head on them. Harry had been deployed last night to a particularly nasty raid, there were a number of deaths on both sides and the downstairs lounge room was again filled with the wounded.

"It was, tiring- I guess" He sighed "Moody kept us going until every Death Eater was dead or had fled. So it went on for hours. A particularly nasty curse broke a few of my fingers" He held his hand up and showed her the bruises. "But one of the Medi-Witches down stairs fixed it quickly. Trust me, my injuries weren't as bad as some of the guys downstairs. One Order member, one of the new guys… I can't remember his name, anyway he practically got disemboweled. He's been stitched up and is comatose but trying to apparate him back with guts hanging out of his stomach was a difficult task."

Harry yawned and leant back on the couch, he was staring off in the distance, reliving the memories of the night before. His eyes were puffy and red. He must have cried sometime in the night. He would never admit it; but being the Chosen One took a toll on him. He constantly had to remain strong, for the sake of the Order. They all saw him as their leader, the one to lift their spirits and convince them that they would prevail; and he was brave. Hermione knew that if she were in the same position she would have surely broken by now.

"Where's Ron?" Hermione asked, stifling a yawn.

"I'm not sure, I think he's still asleep" He mumbled. On top of the nightly battles, when they had the chance to sleep they were plagued by nightmares. It had been a long time since any of them had even had eight hours sleep straight. Hermione moved around, crossed her legs and put the pillow on her lap.

"Come here" She said beckoning him to lay down.

"No I'm okay, I better go down and check in with Lupin and Moody. He's developing new strategies-"

"Harry. You haven't slept. You won't be any help if you're delirious"

He looked at her, mentally arguing with himself until he gave in. He laid down on the pillow and closed his eyes. Hermione removed his glasses and picked up her book to continue reading. Within minutes he was out and quietly snoring. She looked down at his face, the constant frown had gone and he looked peaceful. He looked more his age when asleep and Hermione felt a tinge of adoration for the young man. They had known each other eight years, they were like siblings and cared for each other just as deeply. For a short moment, she felt peace. This library was their escape, their dark paradise.

She picked up her book and continued on, she would let him sleep as long as he could. He obviously needed it and the Order was not going to fall apart if he was out for the day, or so she hoped.

* * *

"Again!" Voldemort snarled. He was pacing back and forth behind Draco, his magic crackled around him in anger.

Draco was covered in sweat. His brow furrowed in concentration and he lifted his wand again. The man on the floor was covered in blood and trembling. They had been there for hours.

" _Abscindo Magicae!"_ He roared. He held his wand high as the spell hit the man.

It took a lot of energy to remove someone's magic. Voldemort had made it seem so effortless. Draco, however was having a lot more trouble and had lost consciousness twice himself. After the sixth failed attempt Voldemort was clearly getting irritated. He had thrown Draco out of the way, his body hitting the wall and sliding down in a heap as he heard Voldemort snarl ' _Crucio'_. The man's screams echoed through the dungeon and made Draco's already sore head throb harder.

The man's back arched and his screams pierced the air, this time they were wispy and slightly croaked. His vocal cords were tearing apart as Draco continued to break his core. Eventually his body began to glow, Draco was on the verge of passing out.

" _Not… This… Time"_ He grunted, he grabbed his wand with both hands, pushing all the power he physically had into the spell. Finally, the man's magic left his body and floated out of his mouth. It was like the Dementors kiss, both the kiss and this spell removed everything a person had: their soul, and their magic.

"Good, Draco, it will get easier the more times you perform the spell. Now collect the magic and meet me upstairs" Voldemort stated calmly and left the cell.

As soon as he had left Draco collapsed, his entire body ached. It felt like the spell had tried to remove his magic as well as the man in front of him. The man remained unconscious and Draco left him. He pocketed the vial of magic and made his way upstairs, taking a side trip to his room to down some pepper up potion.

Voldemort was sitting in a plush chair in the dining room, Nagini was asleep on his lap. Draco bowed and entered the room.

"You did well today Draco, I think we will have another session tomorrow before I deploy you to one of the camps"

"Thank you my Lord" Draco replied, his posture was slouched and he looked at the floor.

"Would you like to see one of the camps?"

"My Lord?"

"I will show you our biggest camp so far, it opened last month and we have slowly been building numbers. Come here" Voldemort stood, Nagini hissed and took place in the middle of the chair.

"Nagini stay, we will be back soon."

Draco walked over to Voldemort and took his arm. They apparated and arrived out the front of a large warehouse. It was rusting and was surrounded by a high fence. Like the house they visited in the meeting this warehouse was not out of the ordinary. It was located in the middle of an industrial estate and from the outside one would not have guessed what was inside.

Voldemort lifted his wand and the gates opened. Two Death Eaters were on the other side keeping guard, they bowed low and gushed a quick "My Lord" as he passed. The yard was bare, every few metres a Death Eater was positioned taking guard. They arrived at the doors leading into the warehouse where another two Death Eaters were waiting.

"Good evening My Lord," Rabastan bowed, "Draco" he acknowledged. His appearance was akin to his brother Roldophus, tall and broad. He grinned down at Draco, his smiled was tainted with black and yellow stained teeth. The other man opened the doors for Voldemort and Draco and they entered.

For a short moment his jaw dropped, but he closed it before Voldemort noticed. He put up his impassive demeanor, his mind was racing. The inside was a lot larger than the outside. The room was separated, each side was split into two large cages: The old, Men, Women and Children. Bruised and dirty faces cowered as Voldemort passed. A few children clutched onto the wire barricade looking up at Draco with large scared eyes, their small fingers curling over the individual wires. Their nails were caked in dirt and blood, they had no beds. Just a few blankets and the clothes they arrived in. He looked away quickly and for the rest of the walk he kept his gaze on the staircase at the end.

The ascended to the loft above, there was a small office space and at the end two private rooms. The office area was occupied with a few more Death Eaters. Roldolphus was at the desk writing in a large log book. He looked up upon their arrival.

"My Lord" He bowed "Hello my Nephew, how are you?"

"I'm fine" Draco replied shortly.

"He has been in training all day" Voldemort added.

"Ah, I see" Roldolphus smiled at Draco "It gets better after a while."

Voldemort walked over to the edge of the loft and looked down at the cages, he twirled his wand in his fingers.

"How many do we hold?" He enquired.

"As of today, we have 150 inferiors" Roldolphus replied. The document he was working on was a log of everyone in the camp. It detailed their names, age, and blood status. A few were highlighted in red, the beginnings of the regime.

"Draco" Voldemort began. Draco looked up from the log at Voldemort. "This is the camp where you will be deployed. In a few days once you've trained some more you will be working here removing the inferiors' magic. See those rooms at the back." He pointed towards the two private rooms. "This is where the extraction takes place, they have permanent silencing charms placed upon them. We don't want to alert the inferiors of what we are doing, lest one of them escapes and tells the Order. The inferiors without magic are then shipped to another camp where they will begin work."

Draco nodded in understanding, he held on to his wand in his pocket. It comforted him slightly. Reminding him of the power he had.

"No doubt you have been involved in and/or heard of the recent raids across the country" Voldemort prompted.

"Yes Sir" Draco answered

"A lot of our raids have been successful as you can see below. However the Order are holding strong. My quest for Harry Potter, whilst imperative is not on the forefront of my follower's orders, he is still to be left to me. He is the chosen one, however, his wand work is lacking. We must focus on taking down the other members."

"Of course" Draco smiled in agreement.

"To take down Potter we need to take down his immediate allies."

Draco suddenly looked up at Voldemort. His eyes widened in realization.

"You know of whom I speak"

Draco gulped.

"I want the Mudblood."

* * *

 **I just want to get straight to the middle of the story. But no we must slowly build it up like a classical compostition. Enjoy**


	3. The capture

**On a side note I kind of left quite a number of characters that were dead in the books alive, I guess I will kill at my own will and see how it unfolds. Enjoy**

* * *

Harry had slept 5 hours straight. After the second hour Hermione the feeling in her legs had long gone. She slowly had moved from under the pillow and left him asleep on the couch, she placed a silencing charm on the door and proceeded to do some more research.

Harry had awoken bleary eyed to a small crash. Hermione looked up wide eyes, a jumble of books at her feet.

"Gosh Harry I'm sorry! I tried to carry them all at once" She said, bending down to reorganize the paper chaos "it didn't go as planned."

"No worries, how long have I been out?" Harry stretched and rubbed his eyes. His hair a crazier mess than normal, random tufts stuck up in every direction.

"Oh, uhm-" Hermione checked her watch "About five hours now" she replied.

"What? Seriously! Crap I need to get downstairs" He jumped to his feet, grabbing his glasses he rushed out the door attempting meanwhile trying to smooth his bedhead.

Hermione continued to tidy up the library before joining Harry and the rest of the Order downstairs for the meeting. She hoped this meeting they would finally have some new leads on the disappearances of the Revesby's. Voldemort was kidnapping people at a staggering rate, whole families were disappearing every second day or so. The Order had their few insiders, relaying information on the next raids and plans. One of their insiders, Faulkner, had been caught spying in on the Carrows at the Ministry and had been publicly executed in broad daylight, middle of Diagon Alley. It was a dark day for the Order, the leads were few and far between lately. Not every counterraid was successful on the Orders half either.

The books had all been returned to their rightful places, Hermione took one last look around the room and left, making her way downstairs, observing the dark interior that was Grimmauld place. The stairwell was shady, lit every so often by a candle or two. The walls were a dirty brown colour, darkening in the corners, clearly in need of scrub.

Kreacher the House Elf made little effort to restore the 'Noble House of Black'. Instead he spent his time, creeping about muttering insults at Hermione and everyone who passed him by ("Filthy Mudblood" and "What you my mistress say if she saw the filth in her house"). Hermione didn't take it to heart, she pitied the Elf; he was clearly brainwashed. The boys had given up on S.P.E.W many years ago, yet Hermione held it close to her heart. There weren't many opportunities currently to stop and wonder what careers the young Order members would have once the war was over. Currently they were fighters and that was that.

The kitchen downstairs was filled with Order members either sitting at the table or crowding around. There were bowls of food, and she saw Mrs. Weasley bustling through the crowd passing out drinks and snacks. She didn't often join in on the fights, she preferred to be the 'Order Mum', cleaning and cooking and looking after all the members that came to the house. She rarely went back to The Burrow, if only to check on the house and give it a tidy.

Remus looked up as she entered and gave her a smile, he was currently in a discussion with Moody, Arthur and Harry. Ron was staring off into the distance, idly stirring his cup of tea, clearly he had been there a while. There were maps and papers splayed out in front of them covered in arrows and non-descript scribbles. She walked over to the table saying a quick few Hi's to the people she passed. Settling in between Harry and Ron, she gave the lanky red head a nudge in the ribs to move him from his stupor.

"Hey Mione, alright?" He asked.

"Never better" She said giving him a little smile.

Things between them were slightly rocky, their childhood crushes on each other lingered, but the war had gotten in the way. The few kisses they had shared were quick and a slight awkwardness lingered. She had only kissed one other guy in her life, Viktor Krum, so she presumed the awkwardness tended to stay in the beginning stages of a relationship. She was no expert on romance, but Ron was a comfort and she did truly love him, as a friend and hopefully, someday more. Along with her dreams of working for the Ministry (when it finally was in a state of renewal _sans_ Voldemort), she one day hoped of starting her own family. Maybe living in a magical village like Hogsmeade or Little Hangleton, having a beautiful garden and an open kitchen.

She was brought out of her reverie by Moody's sudden outburst.

"Right! We've spent far too much time lazing about! This is war, CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" He boomed. The room suddenly quietened, everyone looking towards him with startled faces.

"Here, Here" Sirius toasted, raising his mug to Moody. Moody gave a short 'Harrumph!' and sat back down. Lupin sat at the end of the table, his posture was rigid and his gaze moved between members.

"Our insider at the Ministry, who will remain anonymous for their own safety, has uncovered a lead."

There were murmurs amongst the crowd. The atmosphere had begun to perk slightly.

"Two days from now, a convoy of Death Eaters will be deployed in West Birmingham, they believe that four magical families reside in the area. So far we are unsure of which household they will be targeting first."

One woman gasped at the location. A few stirred in anger, others looked determined.

"We have already deployed members to the various locations, however we are unable to let the families leave this early into the siege."

"Why not!" Amos called out from the back. He had always been outspoken.

"Why do you think nitwit!" Moody snarled "Voldemort will get wind of their movements. They must stay until the day, no doubt there are Death Eaters waiting out the fronts of their houses as we speak watching their every move"

Amos looked affronted and slouched slightly behind the couple in front, he did not reply.

"On the morning of the raid we will send out groups to each location. Everyone will be posted around the houses keeping watch. Our insider at the Ministry is currently working on making individual unaccounted portkeys that we will be giving to each family. The families will be transported to a secret location and Order Members will be waiting to attack and apprehend."

"And kill them" Moody added on sharply.

"Kill them if necessary, if we can, try and apprehend one or two Death Eaters. Interrogating them would be incredibly beneficial. But ONLY if it is safe to do so." Lupin declared seriously. His brow was furrowed. Hermione looked over at him with respect, he hadn't wanted to be one of the leaders. But with Dumbledore's death he was one of the most level headed. The leadership was getting to him like it was Harry. His sandy hair was speckled with whites and greys, and he had a few more permanent wrinkles gracing his forehead.

"Now onto other news" He continued, his voice raised slightly to regain attention. "We are still unable to locate the whereabouts of Eleanor Revesby. At this stage in the search we have listed her as presumed dead until further notice."

He stared at the room in silence for a short while. Letting the news sink in.

"We have located the body of Glen Darrington, the Medi-Witch has estimated his time of death to be around a week and a half ago. Finally we are still searching for the Thornleigh family from Chelsea who have now been declared missing since Saturday." He looked down at his notes, he hated delivering the news of the missing and dead. But it had to be done.

The atmosphere turned solemn and she saw Harry clench his fist beside her. He was angry, she didn't blame him. The room remained quiet, everyone reflecting on the evening's news. A few sniffles could be heard occasionally.

"Well" Lupin again spoke up "If that is all the news for this evening then this meeting is finished" He stood up quickly, taking his papers with him and headed upstairs. The room filled with chatter again and people began moving around, preparing to leave or staying for Molly's dinner.

The trio looked at each other in silence, Hermione grabbed both of their hands and gave them a squeeze. Harry tilted his head in recognition and Ron gave her a half smile. There had been little good news in days, they could feel their hope fading. They were in real need of some good news, and hopefully soon.

.

The day of the raids had finally arrived, those that were a part of the mission were crowded around the kitchen early in the morning, Molly had made a large breakfast of eggs, bacon and kippers. The room was tense. Not many people ate, only a few were bold enough to hold a conversation.

The stilted breakfast didn't last long before the orders to leave were called. Members apparated to their relative locations in groups of two every ten or so minutes. Hermione and Ron were in one group, Harry was in another. At first Hermione and Ron had chucked a fuss at Lupin and Moody about the separation, but they shut them down fast with stern looks and a short "We need strength spread evenly amongst the groups."

Harry and his group were the first to leave. He gave the two of them hugs before he left to apparate. Ron and Hermione waited at the table until it was their turn.

"You ready?" She mumbled, looking up at Ron. He looked down at her, his freckles standing out on his extra pale face.

"Ready as ever" He replied, his eyes hardening in determination. They apparated with a crack.

The location was just outside of a small village, the house stood alone amongst the fields. Trees shrouded the back yard and cast shadows over the house. The front held a small courtyard with a wilting flower patch.

Ron and Hermione set them self behind a picket fence and cast disillusionment charms on each other. The feeling of eggs cracking and oozing down their bodies left and they were invisible to the world.

"It's quaint" Hermione observed.

"Not really my cup of tea" Ron muttered back.

In the distance they saw the rest of the convey turn up in small groups and move off to their own hiding spots. After an hour everyone was in position, invisible and on alert.

The grass fields swayed in the wind, a bird cawed overhead and the sun beat down upon their backs. A young child suddenly appeared at the top window, he placed his hand on the pane and looked out across the road. Suddenly his mother came up behind him, her face was contorted and she appeared to be scolding the child. He quickly left the window and the house was desolate once again.

"And now we wait" Ron sighed.

Lunch soon passed, the sun slowly carved its path arching across the sky. The temperature began to drop around midafternoon and onto dusk. The sky had turned a light blue, there were pinks and oranges just gracing the horizon. It was beautiful. Hermione wished she had a camera to capture the moment, it wasn't often you had a clear view of a sunset, especially in the city.

The happiness was short lived. For in the distance she spotted two silhouettes walking down the road. Her heart raced in anticipation, so far there were only two. She looked around for the others, but no one was in sight. Was this a trick? Who sends just two Death Eaters to apprehend a family of five?

"Something's not right" She whispered as quietly as she could to Ron, "Don't attack until the others start, they're playing us" He nudged her in response.

The silhouettes were getting closer, it was of two men. One had a slight swagger to his walk, he appeared slightly careless. The other was tall with a broad chest, his hands were in his pockets. He appeared less impressed by his surroundings.

Across the road on of the bushes were another order member was rustled, she cringed at the noise. The footsteps were gradually getting louder, one set heavier than the other. The gravel crunched underfoot, until silence came again. She hadn't noticed closing her eyes, but as she opened them now she stifled a small gasp. The two men were leaning against the fence. They were looking up at the house in silence.

Hermione moved back ever so slightly, from here she could hardly see who they are, and the fading light was not helping at all. The house threw scattered light across the road and illuminated the men's faces, she shuddered when she got a clear view. For above her sat the scarred, malicious face of Fenrir Greyback.

Of all the Death Eater she had come across he was by far the one of the most evil. He didn't kill his victims just using magic, but he let his werewolf instincts take over. Many a member and shockingly a staggering number of children had fallen victim to the cannibalistic nature of Fenrir. The man next to him was definitely a Lestrange, she couldn't tell which brother it was. He was way more relaxed in comparison, he leant against the fence, tapping his foot to a silent metronome.

Lestrange coughed loudly, staring up at the house. There was a ripple in one of the curtains and the silhouette of a person quickly moving out of the way. Greyback moved off the fence and slowly walked towards the house.

"Yoo-hoo!" Lestrange called at the house, his tone jovial. "Come out, come out you festy inferiors!" He sung.

"Shut up" Greyback growled.

"I'm just having a bit of fun, you of all people understand the fun in playing with your food" He persisted.

"Enough of this" Greyback snarled. He lifted his wand and suddenly all the windows in the house shattered, shrapnel flew in every direction, nicking Hermione's cheek. There were screams inside the house. Greyback laughed loudly, his voice was coarse, unnerving.

"Come out and surrender to the Lord! Or you will die" Lestrange jeered, he was still leaning against the fence. A piece of shrapnel had hit his shoulder and a dark stain was slowly spreading.

Greyback walked towards the garden, looking around. He whipped his wand out and began setting random plants on fire. An orange glow bathed the house. He set another bush on fire.

Suddenly there were new screams, the Order Member had fled the bush. His disillusionment charm had lifted and he was yelling Aquamenti,pointing at his pants currently aflame.

"Well, well" Lestrange said "this is a surprise-" He chuckled "NOT! Weren't we just waiting for bumbling inferiors to come to the rescue?" He turned to Greyback.

Greyback was eying the man's burning leg. He merely grunted in response. Greyback walked over to the Member, he was on the ground. Finally managing to put the fire out.

"Cruci-"

"Stupefy!" Roared Lupin.

Greyback fell to the ground. But the effect wasn't long lasting. Lestrange had directed a quick enervate at him and proceeded to attack Lupin. Hermione nudged Ron and the two of them got up, lifting their wands they lifted their own charms and proceeded towards Greyback.

"Lestrange, look who it is. Some of Britain's – most – wanted – _scum"_ he snarled.

The two of them began firing curses are Greyback. He didn't waver and took the two of them on without much hassle. She heard Ron puffing besides her, she was also beginning to feel the exhaustion hit. Spending the day hiding in the sun had left them burnt and dehydrated.

It was the perfect distraction, Hermione was still very suspicious at the limited number of Death Eaters present, another Member had left hiding and was helping the man with the burnt leg, he dragged him out of sight and joined Remus.

It was dark now, the street was illuminated with various curses and the fires still raging around the house. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the lounge room suddenly flash blue. The family had activated the portkey. They were safe, they had escaped without injury. Another successful counterraid.

She was brought out of her momentary lapse by a sharp pain in her abdomen. A dark curse had opened a dark wound and there were dark spidery veins leaving the hole. She cried out in pain, cursing her momentary failure.

"Hermione!" Ron yelled

"Keep fighting!" She screamed back.

Then came the cracks.

The appeared all around them, another ten Death Eaters had arrived. Greyback gave a loud howl in delight. Ron, Lupin, Hermione and four other members crowded together in defense. The Death Eaters began firing. The members fired back. Hermione was fighting two at a time. They snarled as she fired curse after curse. She managed to bypass one of their protegos, a blue curse hit the man straight in the chest and his body convulsed, blood poured out of his eyes, ears, nose and mouth. He died soon after.

Hermione didn't have time to stop and think as another Death Eater took his place. It was a small but evil battle. Two Death Eaters were down and one Order Member had died. Hermione fought furiously, there was not room for doubt, her stomach was aching badly and she had lost quite a bit of blood.

"Hermione" Ron cried out.

"What is it?" She screamed back

"My leg, it's broken"

She moved slowly sideways, trying to get the Death Eaters to move around so she could see where Ron was. He was on the ground, firing spell after spell at the oncoming Death Eaters. There was a shard of bone sticking out of his jeans, blood was oozing everywhere. His face was tinged green and he had broken into a hard sweat. Hermione fueled all her energy into two cutting hexes and propelled them at the Death Eaters, one was hit in the chest and collapsed, the other hit in the leg, stumbling sideways; giving Hermione enough time to rush over where Ron was.

"Kenneth!" Hermione yelled to the nearest Member, panic lacing her voice "Come and apparate Ron out of here. I'll fend off the Death Eaters"

She took on the three Death Eaters, there was a loud crack behind her. She didn't have time for relief. The men were bearing down on her, and she was weakening fast. Over their shoulders she could see Lupin and the remaining Member fighting off three of their own.

"Stupefy!"

"Protego"

"Sectumsempra!"

The curse knocked one man down. _Just two more_ she thought. The Death Eater on the right sent a nasty hex her way, she jumped out of the way. It grazed her right arm. Her nerves twitched in pain and her wand dropped from her hand. She swore in frustration, diving to the ground the get her wand.

Grazing her palms, she slid across the dirt and grabbed her wand. Firing spells in any direction she could reach she rolled over to face her opponents. She gasped as she looked up, a Death Eater was standing above her.

She saw a pair of silver eyes, sharp and piercing behind a mask.

Then everything went dark.

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 **We will get back to Draco next chapter. If you like the story please review. It would be good to know if this story was actually going somewhere or not, and whether anyone was actually reading it or am I posting to an invisible audience.**


	4. In memory

**It's coming along slowly, I would like this to end up being a 40-50 chapter story so bear with me.**

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"Miss? …Miss? Are you awake?"

Someone prodded her in the shoulder. It was an uncomfortable prod, it pushed her shoulder blade back into a hard surface. Her head throbbed with dehydration and her limbs were heavy with a dull ache.

She opened her eyes slowly, the world was a blur and above her she saw a number of fuzzy faces peering down at her. She pushed herself up slowly and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She had been laying on a concrete floor, surrounded by a bunch of woman who looked very worse for wear. Looking down at her own hands she saw dirt and scabs. Her jeans, shoes and top had gone, replaced with a very thin nighty, it was badly stained and slightly too large for her.

Where was she? She had remembered the battle the night before, if it was the night before. A Death Eater had knocked her out cold, and taken her to this place. Upon looking around she noticed she was in a cage. There were identical cages around her housing more people.

Eventually she looked up at the person who prodded her, it was an older woman. Her face was heavily lined and her blonde hair was scraggly and unkempt. She also wore the same dress.

"Uh… where am I?" Hermione questioned. Her voice came out croaky and dry.

"You're at the prison, where all the Mudbloods, Halfbloods, Bloodtraitors and others are taken by you-know-who" She answered, she sat down next to Hermione. A few other women came and joined the huddle.

"What do you mean prison? How long has this been here?" Hermione started to panic slightly.

"I'm not sure, I've been here for three weeks now. None of us last long here, so none of us know" She looked at her sympathetically. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen" Hermione answered, distracted by her surroundings.

"Ah, well, you will be gone before long too" One of the other ladies piped up.

Hermione turned to her, she was also unkempt, she was slightly dumpier than the other lady, but not by much, they all bore the signs of malnutrition.

"Why?" Hermione replied.

"Oh we've been keeping track of who leaves, they always seem to take the younger ones first, not the children. But in our section and the men's section across. The elders get left to die and the children I guess are left until they reach a certain age."

"Where do they all go? And who takes them? Are they being killed?" Hermione blurted out, her eyes were wide in panic, she clutched onto her hands in fear, trying to stop the shaking.

"Ok, ok girl don't rush yourself. We have all day to get through your questions. Trust me, we do nothing but wait for one of the Death Eaters to come and take us away." She chuckled darkly.

"We don't know where they are taken, all we know is that they go up to the loft and never come back. Maybe they're dead, ha, that would be a lot better than most scenarios I can think of. This place is patrolled by numerous Death Eaters, there's no way to escape, we can't even climb these fences. The last person who did –" She shuddered "Well, they didn't die peacefully, that's for sure. You-Know-Who does not come here often, the place is mainly run by Roldolphus Lestrange. He gives the orders on the selection process, and it really depends who is on shift at the time. Although there's a new guy working with him, it looks like he's gone straight to personal assistant or something. What's his name Marge?" She turned to the woman looking questionably.

"I can't remember, he's too new for my old memory" She grunted.

"Young kid, blonde hair, sharp face" The woman continued.

"Malfoy" Hermione snarled.

"Yeah that one" She said "He seems to do a lot of the 'disappearing' so to speak" She shook her head at Hermione. "Seems he rose in the ranks fast."

"He's vile" Hermione spat.

"Oh, you know him?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

"We went to Hogwarts together" She sighed

"Ahh, we got another from Hogwarts, arrived four days ago."

She turned around looking into the crowd.

"Hey, Hogwarts Girl! Come over to the front, someone's here to meet you"

The crowds turned to look at the small group curiously. There were a few murmurs and bustling about. Through the crowds, a head of wavy golden hair moved, getting closer and closer.

"Lavender?!" Hermione yelped.

.

.

"I-said-ORDER!" Moody roared. His real eye glared out across the room. His fake eye rolled around in his socket, crazy, like his personality.

"She's gone Moody! I will not calm down until she's back!" Ron yelled at the man.

"Sitting here yelling at each other will not bring the girl back you fools!" He snarled. "We need a plan and we need order."

The room was alive with chatter and movement. Molly sat at the table sniffing and dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief, she was being comforted by a solemn Arthur. Those that new Hermione well were at the closest end to Moody. Harry and Ron were closest, hunched over, they hadn't slept a wink.

Once they had returned to Grimmauld Place after their successful counter-raid they had waited patiently for others to arrive back. It was slow going, each group had their own losses and hardships to deal with; a number returned with plenty of nasty wounds.

Ron and Harry waited and waited. Finally Lupin returned, bloody and beaten he walked in and collapsed to his knees at the boys feet.

"She's gone" He had whimpered. "One of them disapparrated. I couldn't get to her, they had surrounded me, I tried. I couldn't get to her- I couldn't -I -"

Ron roared in anger and Harry stared in shock. What happened after was a blur, they had apparated back to the house with a number of Members. Searching amongst the rubble for any sign of bushy hair. But Lupin had been right. They had taken her, she was gone.

They had remained awake all night, discussing places she could potentially be held prisoner. Neither of them even mentioning the idea of death. It was too surreal.

"Constant Vigilance!" Moody boomed. Everyone jumped.

"Now, we can't rule out the possibility of her death" He declared. Molly gasped and burst into tears, Arthur and Lupin gave him stern looks.

"She's not dead" Harry stated, he didn't look up from the table.

"You don't know that" Moody grunted.

"She's not dead" Harry stated again, his voice rising. "I would know if my best friend was dead." He looked up at Moody with dark eyes.

"Harry says she's not dead. That's enough for me to go on. Where do we start looking?" Sirius piped up, he looked over at Harry and gave him a small sympathetic smile.

"So… what are we going to do?" A woman at the back inquired. The people around her murmured in acknowledgement.

"Not sit around bloody well wasting time, I hope" Ron muttered to himself.

Moody's magical eye stared down at Ron, menacingly.

"It is common knowledge that Voldemort's hideouts are under the Fidelius charm. We only know so far of Malfoy Manor, which has long since been unoccupied. However, we will muster up a group and deploy them to the manor within the hour." Moody ordered. A quill was dancing across a piece of paper in front of him, writing down everything he said. Its dark voluminous plumes mesmerized the younger members, lulling them into a sleepy trance.

"I think we need to get in contact with our insider at the Ministry. It's high time we infiltrated the Ministry with another insider. See if we can scope out the next plans, and hopefully convince a few to change sides." Lupin added on.

"Excellent idea" Moody replied. His quill scratched away.

"And of course, if any of you see a Death Eater. Nab him! We need an interrogation, and fast!" He roared. The room jumped again in fright. The tension in the room could be cut with a knife. The majority were still in shock that one of their best fighters had been captured. If she had been captured then how easy was it for any of them to be captured themselves?

Lupin and Moody jotted down a few more notes, murmuring to Moody occasionally. The crowd began chatting away again, various theories could be heard flying across the room between jittery and anxious members.

"How the heck did this happen?" Fred muttered, he had always had a soft spot for the young girl, her fiery attitude towards their wild endeavors had always been cute. She would look up at the tall twins with her rosy cheeks huffing and puffing about one thing or another and Fred was now sorely missing it.

"If I had known, if I had just known- I would've stayed" Ron brought his fist down to the table hard, making the group jump. His eyes were watering slightly and he looked down to hide them.

He never understood completely how Hermione had been so hung up on Dean's death, they weren't close at Hogwarts. Yet she carried the guilt like he was an ex-boyfriend. But he knew now, the guilt of being apparated out early was eating him from the inside, he wanted to vomit and scream. It wasn't fair that she had been taken.

"It should have been me that was taken" he muttered still hiding his face. Ginny put her arm around him and rested her head on his shoulder. Her face was red and blotchy and she hadn't spoken in hours.

"Mate, it wasn't your fault. Don't say that." Harry put his hand on Ron's shoulder "Hermione would not approve of that attitude and you know it." He said, looking at Ron sternly.

"You know he's right, brother" George added on, he looked at Ron sympathetically.

Ron looked up at Harry and then across the table where Fred and George sat, he recomposed his face from lost and helpless to determined.

"No, you're right. I've been like this all night. It's not helping her or me, for that matter- Moody!" He suddenly yelled out.

"What!" Moody barked back. One eye looking at Ron and the other still down at the notes.

"I want to go to Malfoy Manor for the search" Ron declared

"Me too!" Harry said.

"So do we" Fred and George said in unison, sitting a little straighter.

"Fine" He glared out at all of them "But remain alert, that house is full of nasty dark objects, if one of you gets bitten by an angry hat stand don't blame me."

The group of kids looked at each other grim but determined, Ginny huffed in irritation. She still wasn't allowed to go on any missions. Instead she had been staying at home practicing all the spells Hermione was teaching her. But now she was gone, and Ginny felt lost.

Moody compiled the rest of the groups to different suspected hideouts and the mission began.

.

.

The side door opened with a creak and Draco pushed the unconscious inferior out, they collapsed to the ground, a waiting Death Eater grabbed them and with a crack, they were gone. It was the third person today and he was quickly running out of steam. He had been at it for a week, at first he could only manage one or two a day, but now he was up to five and making good progress.

He stepped out of the room and into the commune. Roldolphus was again pouring over papers, he was a smart man. It was a shame his talents were left to the coordination of inferiors, he was worthy of Minister Status. Yet Voldemort thought his brains were better used here, and who was to dare question the Dark Lords motives.

"How'd it go?" Roldolphus asked as Draco sat down at the table.

"Not bad, I really need a pepper up though" He sighed, leaning back in his chair, he ran his hands through his long hair and closed his eyes with fatigue.

Roldolphus got up and grabbed a bottle of the shelf and slid it across the table, Draco downed it in one gulp and muttered his gratitude. His uncle looked over at him with a peculiar expression.

"What?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You brought that Granger girl in the other day" He stated.

"So?" Draco challenged.

"You went to Hogwarts with her" He replied.

"What are you getting at?"

"Look you and I both know where our loyalty lies, and what we must do to cleanse the Wizarding race. But you went to school with her, and I know you used to talk about her at home." He peered at Draco, trying to pry a reaction from him.

"I am fine, and good riddance. She doesn't deserve magic" He spat, glaring up at the man.

Roldolphus looked at him apprehensively and sighed.

"Well okay, as long as you're good" He said.

Draco looked at him suspiciously. What was he on about? Roldolphus never showed and form of emotion unless it was towards Bella. Which was freaky in itself considering she was such a nutcase. He did not care for Granger, in fact he was glad she would be rid of magic. He always had hated that she beat him in every class. He wasn't far behind marks wise, but to be beaten by a Mudblood was downright embarrassing.

"I'm going to get some fresh air" Draco declared. Roldophus nodded but didn't look up from his work.

Draco walked downstairs and past the cages, people cowered away as he walked, a few children yelped in fright and ran from the edge of the cage. The news had spread fast that he was the main perpetrator of the 'mysterious' disappearances, thus women and men fled the edges of the cage when he passed, afraid they were going to be next . He smirked to himself at the power he now had over them, the way he could spread fear through a person created an adrenaline rush. He loved the feeling, he could only imagine Voldemort felt this but to a larger scale. _No wonder he wants to rule the world_ he mused. As he began his walk down the middle he saw her, she was holding on the cage and looking out at him. Her hair was crazier than usual and created a halo of frizz, her thin arms and legs poked out of her flimsy dress. She really looked pathetic.

As he got closer, his heart stopped ever so slightly, it was those eyes. She was looking at him with such a fire he hadn't seen since Hogwarts. Those two large brown eyes swam with absolute loathing. They followed him up the aisle until he came face to face with her. He had stopped walking and looked down at her. The fence separating the two. She looked up at him, her expression unchanging. The inferiors in the cage had all quietened down and were staring at the two in curiosity and fright. His expression remained impassive. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly and her glare became stronger. Her unblinking eyes held him captured.

Suddenly, he blinked out of his reverie. He sneered down at her, throwing his harshest look of disgust he could muster and stormed out of the room. As he walked he felt her stare burning through the back of his skull.

He had a flashback to the day she had punched him in the face, they had been closer than this. Her eyes had bore the same loathing looking up at him. Her shoulders had risen and fallen quickly as she took short adrenaline filled breaths. He had secretly looked at her in awe, she was wild and majestic and despite the growing pain in the side of his face, her rage was mesmerizing. It was beautiful.

And for a short moment he felt guilt, guilt for taking her away from her friends. From her beliefs, from her life.

He hated it.

He hated her.

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 **The story is really not aligning to the actual story, so at the moment just clear your mind of original HP. Reviews would be appreciated.**


	5. Delicate and fragile

**Shout out to the reviewers and their questions!**

 **LanaLee1-** _ **I was wondering if there will be anything positive in this story or if it's going to continue with gore and murder?**_ **I agree with you that the story is quite gory and full of murder, however I really want to push the contextual background of the story in the first few chapters so I can then move on with the relationships, so don't back out just yet! Haha, there will be lots of positivity to come. I'm just going to be very cliché and say 'you can't a have a rainbow without a little rain' and that's what my story is about.**

 **Helpfulfred-** _ **Draco feeling guilty for Hermione?**_ **It was a small momentary flash of guilt, after all they went to school together. He took away someone's life and I guess that can be impacting for both the victim and the perpetrator.**

 **PRE-WARNING: Readers are advised that this chapter contains themes containing violence and sexual assault. If you have an aversion to such themes please do not read on.**

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The group arrived at a set of gates standing tall and ominous in the evening gloom. Ivy was slowing wrapping its delicate tendrils around the individual iron rods, strangling the little life left in them, waiting for their imminent crumble into the abyss - like the Manor hidden behind the failing barricade. One gate had been open previously and was now leaning precariously on an angle. Harry looked over at Ron for assurance, but he looked straight ahead, giving nothing away.

"Well, let's not wait for the grass to go" Fred suddenly blurted out.

Kingsley and Sturgis led the group through the large gates and down a path towards the manor, the grounds stretched far in both directions. Where once immaculate gardens grew, adorned with fountains and magical creatures now bore the signs of neglect. Weeds had taken over and the once short, perfectly trimmed hedges now grew high overhead.

The Manor itself was a sight. The archaic building stood tall and stoic, it had five floors and wings, spreading itself far and wide across the property. The exterior was stone, every so often a gargoyle had been carved sitting on a perch. They leered down at the newcomers as if privy to their intentions.

The young Order Members were accompanied by Sturgis Podmore and Kingsley Shacklebolt. Moody had not trusted the 'younglings' to fend for themselves in a house full of dark objects.

The double doors opened into a large foyer, marble floors stretched out into the dark corners of the room. A large staircase in the middle was strewn with cobwebs and dust. The place had been empty for quite a while.

"Ok let's split up, Sturgis you and the twins go through the door on the left," Kingsley motioned to a dark door shadowed under the balcony. "I will take Potter and Weasley and head upstairs. _Look_ –" He sighed. "I really don't think we will have any luck here. It's been abandoned for months- but there's no harm" He added quickly upon seeing Ron's glare.

"The house is protected from _Humano Revelio_ since the last uprising" -Harry looked at him questioningly-

"This is where most prisoners of war were kept, they have a large dungeon system. So, we will have to do each floor manually. Come on" He beckoned to the boys. They made their way up the staircase and disappeared into the dark.

"Well-" George began-

"It's just us old chap" Fred finished. He clapped the short man on the shoulder, making his knees buckle, and proceeded to nudge him through the door. George chuckled next to him and followed the two through the door.

" _Lumos!_ " Sturgis murmured quietly and began walking slowly down the corridor. Eventually, came to a set of doors, there was one on the right and one on the left.

"We will take this one" The twins said simultaneously, they entered the door to the right leaving Sturgis out in the hall to fend for himself.

The room was appeared large, the boys vision obscured by large dark shapes. Back outside they heard the other door open as Sturgis began his own search. The twins both muttered _lumos_ and the room lit up around them. It was full of furniture stacked and dumped in an apparent rush, between piles of furniture ran long dark squishy pathways.

"I guess they moved the entire house into one room" George chuckled.

"Seems so" Fred replied. He began walking down one aisle, maneuvering his lanky body around ancient looking dressers and shelves.

He ducked under a brass candelabra, his tall frame however didn't even come close to fitting and with a _thunk!_ He whacked his head on the brass candle holder. The candelabra gave an almighty huff and began kicking and whacking Fred with all the might it could muster.

"Ow, OW! Gerroff me" Fred howled in pain and shock.

The candelabra picked him up with two arms, lifting him high above the ground. His legs swung and kicked out uselessly as the brass creature began punching him in the stomach.

"OOF – GEORGE! – unghhh- HELP!" He yelled and spluttered. If the candelabra could talk he was sure it would be yelling some expletives at him, but for what?! He only bumped the stupid thing.

" _Impedimenta_!" George suddenly yelled, the spell hit the candelabra and it froze mid punch.

"What the fuck!" George exclaimed, looking at the candelabra with curiosity.

"Just help me down will you" Fred snapped, he was not as interested in the tormentor.

"Oh right, yeah" George replied. He lifted Fred out of the now frozen candelabras grip and placed him on the ground.

"I feel like I've been hit by multiple bludgers," He moaned, crouching over and holding his stomach.

George patted his back, trying to stifle his laughter.

"Why are you laughing? I could have been killed! By a candel-fucking-labra no less" Fred snapped incredulously.

George roared with laughter, tears streamed down his face as he tried to muster a reply.

"I'm- hahaha- so sorry- hehehaha- I just-" He stood tall and tried to take in a few deep breathes. Fred glared at him silently.

"I'm sorry" George tried again, looking sheepish, "But you were just beaten by an inanimate- well actually not an inanimate- you were beaten by a flipping candelabra."

Fred cracked a smile at his brother, and let out a chuckle.

"Yeah, you're right! What an adventure- one day I will tell my children how I battled a mere candle holder in the infamous Malfoy Manor. It will be great!" He spluttered. The two of them howled with laughter.

"Okay, but seriously" Fred panted "Let's get this over and done with, we need to find Hermione" His tone changed as he mentioned the girls name.

George stopped laughing and looked over at him knowingly, he opened his mouth to say something. But closed it with a glare from Fred. Fred turned and continued down the crowded aisle, this time moving slower and carefully.

"You know, there's nothing wrong with it" George said carefully.

"Wrong with what?" Fred challenged.

"I know you" George replied.

"Yeah? What's that supposed to mean?" He muttered back.

"I know how you feel- how you feel about her…" He probed.

He watched Fred's shoulders slump in defeat, he let out a puff of air and turned to his brother.

"It doesn't matter…" Fred muttered.

"She's gone Fred, you're allowed to feel like shit!" George declared.

"No!" Fred snarled at him. "She's gone, and it fucking sucks, but she didn't know! None of them know and that's how it shall stay!" He threatened George.

"Fine" George snapped back "But don't keep it from me!"

"Look," Fred mumbled, his tone suddenly helpless and his voice quiet, "I couldn't do that to Ron. Not after everything they've been through. She doesn't look at me the way she does him, so it doesn't matter- We just need to find her."

George nodded solemnly and remained quiet. Fred had liked her since his last year at Hogwarts, but she was two years his junior, and boy did she have a go at them about Weasley Wizard Weezes. She intimidated Fred, and so he kept it to himself. As the years progressed, Ron began liking Hermione, they became a strange, confusing, undefined couple that the twins were unable to work out and eventually Fred had given up.

"Come on, brother" George smiled at him.

The two of them continued on.

.

.

Hermione awoke to a cacophony of screaming, yelling and utter commotion.

"Get the fuck off her!"

"Shut up you inferior!"

"Let her go!"

"You're fucking vile!"

There were more screams. Opening her eyes, she saw yet another commonplace event. Two Death Eaters were dragging a woman out of the cage by her ankles, she was crying and desperately trying to hold on to the cage. Her dress had bunched up around her waist, showing off her underwear. The Death Eaters towered over her jeering. The men in the other cage were rioting, throwing old food and rocks at the men in protest.

"I said – SHUT UP!" Rookwood roared at the Men, he fired a bunch of stinging hexes into the crowd. A few cowered and moved back, the rest stayed at the edge of the cage, shouting at the Death Eaters.

It was futile, the men had pulled her off the cage and proceeded to levitate her above the crowds of people. The lady's dress was now bunched under her armpits, her ribs were sticking out as she flailed helplessly. She cried for help, tears left streaks down her dirty face.

Rookwood smirked up at the woman, through the crowds a rock soared straight towards Rookwood. It hit him straight in the back of the head, the impact was loud. His smile faltered as the pain set in. The room went silent as the rock cluttered to the floor, the sound echoing around the room. He turned to the men's cage and Hermione saw the back of his head had split and dark blood was oozing and matting with his hair.

"Who… threw… the… rock?" He said dangerously.

The crowd shifted uncomfortably, the men trying to avoid looking into his eyes. Hermione held her breath in anticipation.

"I said- WHO THREW THE ROCK!?" He bellowed.

The crowds jumped in fright. Then, one man moved his way through the crowd to the front, he stood tall and defiant, he looked Rookwood dead in the eye.

"I did" He said, nonplussed.

Rookwood's face contorted into an ugly sneer, he walked towards the cage slowly. His wand was pointed at the man.

"And who do you think you are?" Rookwood spat.

The man smirked slightly.

"Brave?" He mused.

Rookwood snarled at the man, lifted his wand and hit the man straight in the chest with the Killing Curse. The man dropped to the ground, his smirk ghosting his lifeless face.

"Now" Rookwood roared over the crowds cries. "Who wants to join him?"

The crowd went silent again, and he chuckled.

"That's what I thought. Now back the fuck away from the fences" he ordered. The crowds moved backwards and he began moving the woman up the stairs to the loft.

Hermione's gaze followed the woman's body up the stairs where she saw Draco leaning against the railing. He had been watching the whole scene quietly from above. He motioned Rookwood to the right room and the woman moved out of sight. She saw his posture stiffen slightly and he turned and looked straight at her. She glared up at him, he showed no emotion as he turned and entered the room.

Hermione sunk to the floor, she didn't have much energy anymore. They hardly fed the prisoners and Hermione was fast noticing her own weight loss, her ribs had begun to show and her stomach was curved inwards with constant hunger.

"Are you alright?" Madge one of the older women queried, she sat down next to Hermione and gave her a little nudge with her shoulder.

"Not really" Hermione sighed, "I'm tired of being here."

Madge put her arm around Hermione's shoulders and sighed sympathetically.

"Girl, the worst thing you can do in this situation is begin to feel sorry for yourself. That's when you know they've won. When they've successfully broken you."

She lifted Hermione's chin and made her look at her. She noticed the fatigue in the girl's eyes, her face beginning to show the signs of fatigue, shrouded by now matted, wild locks.

"And have they broken you?" She asked.

"No… no they haven't" Hermione replied.

"Then don't act like they have, you and you alone hold the power over your own thoughts and emotions, you control it- not them." She smiled down at the young woman.

Hermione looked up at her silently.

"Okay?" She pried.

"Yes," Hermione replied, "I have control."

"Now, since we have that out of the way. What do you want to do, we have the whole afternoon to kill…" She trailed off with a frown.

"…the whole afternoon to get through?" Hermione tried correcting.

"Yes," Madge murmured.

"How about… how about checkers… we could use rocks?" Hermione tried.

"Yeah, alright" Madge replied.

.

.

"Please! Please don't do it… I don't want to die!" The lady wailed.

Draco sighed with impatience. If only she knew what really was going to happen, then she'd probably beg for death instead.

 _I know I would…_

"Shut up will you" He huffed.

The woman looked up at him from the ground, her eyes were bloodshot and pooling with tears.

"Why are you doing this, don't you have a heart?" She whimpered.

"I said shut up" He snarled. He had been preparing a vile for her magic, he had to tag it with her details. He had begun to fill out the tags beforehand so he wouldn't forget.

"You're only a child, this is wrong… you can't truly believe in this- this regime" She mumbled, she sniffled and looked up at him.

He stopped filling out the form and turned to look at her. She sniffled again.

"Look lady, just shut the fuck up and we can get this over and done with."

"You've killed so many!" She cried, "Your soul is ruined- ruined forever"

 _Yuck, she's turning into a blubbery mess!_

He crouched down in front of her.

"Shut. Up." He growled.

She glared at him through her tears.

"I'm glad I'm dying, it's better than being a prisoner!" She sobbed.

"Oh, honey. Dying would be way better than what I am about to do" he taunted.

She looked up at him and gulped. He held up his wand and cried the dreaded curse…

"Here you go" Draco thrust the vile at Roldolphus an hour later and sat down at the table.

"All good?" He asked.

"Yeah, the usual I guess" Draco muttered. He downed another pepper up and sighed.

"You have dinner with your mother in half an hour" Roldolphus said, again pouring over papers.

"Fuck!" Draco cried, he had completely forgotten. "I gotta go, I'll be back at midnight!"

"Cya later" His uncle replied as Draco ran down the stairs and out of the building.

.

"Master Draco, welcome home!"

The elf bowed low, her pointy ears prodding the ground. She straightened and beamed up at the young man, she wore an old dirty

"Thank you Tilly, is dinner ready?" He asked.

"Yes'm, I spent the whole day making Misses Malfoys favourite dishes. Yes- yes I did!" She cried, her high pitch voice bounced off the hallway as she led him into the dining room.

His mother and father had moved into a smaller manor in Kent after Voldemort's reclaim to power. Narcissa had felt lonely and overwhelmed in the previous manor when Lucius was taken to Azkaban and she proceeded to house hunt. It only became more of a necessity as the Order was made aware of the location and the raids began.

The new manor was open and modern in comparison, white carpets and walls covered each room. Plush couches and furnishings delicately accentuated each room and was handpicked by Narcissa herself. Draco personally enjoyed this house over the other, it felt more like a home.

His mother sat at the dining table, two places had been set. Fine silver cutlery and china dishes glinted under the chandelier.

"Good evening, mother" Draco said, graciously.

"Draco" She cooed, she lifted her hand towards him and he bent down and kissed it before taking his seat beside her.

"How are you?" She enquired. She was dressed to an inch of perfection, her hair was pinned back and her face was beautified with subtle makeup. Not even a war could stir Narcissa from flawlessness.

"Never been better," Draco smiled at her. As if he would tell her how he was really feeling, he didn't want her worrying after all.

"I worry, Draco" She replied, her brow furrowed slightly.

 _So much for that then…_

"Well, to be honest. It's tiring work, but it's for the best. We are making steady progress, averaging around three or four inferiors every day-"

"Draco, I want to hear about you. Not the regime" She interrupted.

"Uh… I'm fine, honestly." He hastened at her concerning look.

"Roldolphus tells me that the Granger girl arrived last week." She said solemnly.

"So?" He snapped.

"My point exactly" She said with finality. "You're allowed to feel emotion for people you went to school with- no matter how much you hated them" She added at his glare.

"I don't have to feel anything" He growled.

Why did they keep pressuring him about this shit, he was fine. His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of dinner. Bouillabaisse was served to the pair and the room morphed into silence, occasionally interrupted by the clinking of silverware.

His mother didn't press the subject again that evening, she didn't want to disrupt the short time that they had together. Instead they talked about Quidditch, books and anything that did not give hint to the lingering war outside.

They moved to the sitting room, where drinking cups of coffee, they had a match of wizard's chess. Narcissa failed spectacularly and Draco teased her mercilessly. It was a wonderful evening, Draco had quite forgotten about the ongoing mission at hand.

She kissed him at the door and he promised to come by again as soon as possible. Tilly waved goodbye, peering out behind Narcissa's dress. Draco smiled back at the pair and disapparated.

He walked down the street towards the prison, it was dark and quiet. It was well past midnight, he had been having too much fun and overstayed at his mother's. Fortunately, his night shifts didn't include magic removal, but merely walking around the perimeter. It wasn't a bad job, he had hours to think and be alone.

He passed the gate and walked towards the right, there was a small shed up ahead, where equipment was stored. He walked towards it, looking around for any signs of intruders. As he got closer he heard noises, he couldn't make out the sounds. He quickened his pace...

He heard whimpering… a deeper voice was grunting, he heard the slap of skin against skin, the rustle of boxes.

He sighed in frustration. The rules were clear, no sleeping with the inferiors, _lest they give you diseases…_ He shivered at the thought and made his way to the shed, whoever it was was about to get into a load of shit.

He lit his wand and opened the door, it was a nasty sight. The man's pants were around his ankles, one hand was holding the inferior's hair, holding her down, she was bent over a box, her dress had been bunched up around her shoulders. Her back was splayed with a number of cuts and bruises. She cried out in pain as he continued to thrust, groaning into the dark.

"Oi!" Draco yelled at the man. He stopped mid-thrust and turned his head. It was Avery. He heard the girl gasp in pain and relief.

"What the fuck Malfoy" He snarled. "Get the fuck out of here!"

"You know the rules, Avery. Get off her" He said calmly. Avery sneered at him.

"Or you can stay, and I tell the Dark Lord. He wouldn't be too pleased, I'm sure he'd have an excellent punishment for you. You remember what happened to Yaxley?" Draco threatened.

"Whatever" He spat, he bent down and pulled his pants up. "You're a lousy fuck anyway!" He spat at the girl. She had fallen to the floor, where she remained crouched in a ball, whimpering quietly.

Avery stormed past Draco and disappeared into the darkness. Draco held his wand a little higher, allowing the light to wash over the room. He walked further into the shed towards the girl. The sudden movement caused the girl to jump and she scrambled further backwards.

"Come here, now." Draco ordered. He would have to clean her up and get her back in the cage before anyone noticed the commotion.

She stopped crawling, but didn't come and closer.

He crouched down and tried to get a look at the girl, her matted hair covered her face and she turned her face away from him. She was clearly hurt and ashamed of the situation she was currently in.

"Look at me, I need to get you back to the cage before anyone notices you're gone" He sighed exasperated. She continued to ignore him.

Draco had had enough, using his hand he grabbed her chin and moved her head towards him forcefully. Her hair fell back around her face. His heart stopped momentarily. Her lip was cut and bleeding, her face red from being forced against the box. Her skinny arms had begun to show signs of bruising from Avery's strong grip.

It was Hermione.

She looked at him with scared eyes, she was shaking, and she was broken.

"Th-thank-y-you" She whispered. She didn't look him in the eye. If there was anything to admire the girl for it was her strength. It had disappeared, as she crouched in the dark room Draco slowly felt his anger building.

He was going to kill Avery.

* * *

 **Sorry it's been a while. I didn't think I would struggle to write this chapter but I did. Review please! :)**


	6. Self-hatred

**Apologies for the lateness, I had emergency surgery and was too drugged up to think of the next chapter. Merry belated Christmas and New Year and hope your 2016 is swell.**

* * *

With nothing but dirty floors and the occasional rock to play with, nothing passed the time better than a good old gossip session. Not just the women, the men joined in, as did the Death Eaters. The prison became a zoo, and the main event: Hermione. She assumed that after a week it would die down, people would stop staring, some of the more opinionated woman would stop avoiding her as she walked by. Yet it didn't.

 _A soft breeze tickled the back of her neck, unconsciously tipping her head forward as to allow greater access to the wind, she made her way down the dune. The sun warmed the top of her dark head, sending heat travelling through her veins. She gave a small smile, digging her toes into the sand, feeling it flow through her toes. She felt a stab of pain in her side… the waves lapped playfully at the shoreline, white foam bubbled along the edge… another stab… her hair flew… STAB!_

"Good morning, Hermione" Madge nudged the girl. "It's almost lunch time."

Hermione kept her eyes closed, she was not in the best mood to be dealing with Madge, or the rest of the prisoners. Pretending to sleep meant she could avoid the stares and whispers. Since her own _incident_ , there had been one more incident with an older girl. She had been ostracized for a day or two and then forgiven, yet Hermione still bore the cold silence. She might as well have the word SLUT branded on her forehead the way they acted.

 _Not that I am a slut,_ she simmered. She hadn't even lost her virginity before being here. She wasn't religious nor was she overly traditional, but the idea of saving herself for someone she loved had romanticized the pain and the fear that was to have come.

She turned away from Madge, her ribs protested against the cold hard ground. So what if it was almost lunch, they had nothing to do but sit around and stare at each other as it was. Staying in the confines of her imagination appealed greater to her than the dull drone from Madge.

"Seriously, Hermione I think you want to be awake for this." Madge pestered her again, giving her a slight shake.

"Awake for what?" Hermione mumbled.

"Francine heard from Wesley that they have caught one of the Order members." She replied fervently.

Hermione sat up suddenly, causing her head to spin and her vision to blur. She was starving.

"What? Who?!" She cried.

"I'm not sure, we have to wait and see." Madge said, she got up off the ground and held out her hand for Hermione to take.

Making their way to the fence line, they noticed the peak in attention across the different compounds. The news had spread quickly and for once (to Hermione's relief) the attention wasn't on her.

The men on security seemed tense, they held their wands in a vice like grip. Glaring through the fence at any inferiors who appeared livelier than the rest. The stirrings were only heightened with every new sound heard outside the building. Who was the member captured? It couldn't be Harry, Voldemort would have let the entire country know by now. Maybe it was Ron, his wandwork was not as strong as the other two and he was susceptible to capture. Then again, there were at least seventy members of the Order that she knew of, not including the countless of others she had yet to meet. Either way, it was a loss to the Order and a win for the enemy.

"When do you think they're coming?" Hermione inquired, peering at the doors.

"No idea, the battle may have been far away, took them one or two apparitions to get here or maybe the Death Eater was injured badly…. Hopefully."

"Maybe he… or she… is fighting back" Hermione challenged.

"Maybe" Madge replied "or they're injured badly…"

Lavender shortly joined them, although they had been school mates. Their immature feud over Ron had caused a few rifts between the girls. Lavender had created a small group of younger friends at the prison, whilst Hermione preferred the company of the elders. There was less drama amongst the women, and besides, her life was dramatic enough at the moment.

"I hope it's not Ron" Lavender said quietly next to her. Hermione started slightly, she was thinking the exact same thing. But to share it with Ron's ex seemed a little strange; given the situation they were in, however, Hermione pushed her feelings into a box at the back of her mind and turned to Lavender. She was pale and skinny, her hands holding the fence shook slightly with fear of the unknown.

"Me too" Hermione mumbled back, giving her old classmate a small smile.

In her peripheral she saw him walking across the balcony, his platinum hair stood out in the dim environment. She focused her gaze towards him completely, he was leaning on the rail looking towards the doors. He wasn't agitated like the security below, his brow was furrowed slightly in anticipation of the new arrival.

Suddenly there was a loud crash, the double doors swung inwards so viciously they hit the walls. The building shook on impact. All eyes were on the figure striding down the center aisle. Behind him a limp and unconscious man dragged along whilst long pale fingers curled around tufts of ginger hair.

Hermione's heart pounded in her ears. _No…no…no…_ Her breath caught in her throat. _Please no…_ Her eyes widened. _It can't be…_

She followed the two figures on the other side of the fence, not noticing the people she pushed out the way.

"No!" Her voice cracked. She pushed against the wire fence, it creaked under pressure.

The figure kept walking.

"NO! NO YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" Her voice echoed through the building. Two piercing silver eyes bore into her, she didn't notice.

The figured ignored her and kept walking towards the stairs.

The world slowed to a stop.

"NO! NO! NO"

She screamed over and over again, yet if fell on deaf ears. The figure did not levitate the body up the stairs. His head made a dull thudding noise as it hit the iron steps. The security guards roared with laughter, the inferiors howled with disapproval and Hermione continued to scream.

.

.

 _Two days ago…_

"I'VE GOT IT!" Kingsley boomed, his tall frame looming over the rest of the Order. His robes were disheveled and a wild look danced in his eyes.

"Got what?" Barked Moody.

"I can't believe they were so stupid!"

"Who was?" Arthur enquired.

"Yaxley!" Kingsley replied incredulously, "Get Harry and Ron and anyone else you can find!"

Remus bolted up the narrow stairs in search of the younger boys, meanwhile hollering for all to go down to the kitchen. Harry and Ron met him on the second level, their eyes were ringed with dark circles and their jaws were shadowed from the countless nights of following false leads. Remus pitied the boys, they had been working so hard with the search for Hermione. Every day they returned empty handed broke them little by little.

"Who is it?"

"What's with all the yelling?"

"Kingsley has a lead!" Remus replied.

The boys' expressions brightened with curiosity and excitement. The three ran back down stairs and joined the rest. Kingsley stood in front of the fire place, every one's eyes were on him.

"Alright, alright settle down" His deep voice boomed across the room, "we were ordered to keep a better eye and ear out at the ministry. And it worked! About an hour ago, Yaxley let slip he was heading home to Oxford tomorrow for a day off."

The room began to buzz with excitement. Harry and Ron perked up immediately.

"Wait what if-"

"-It's a trap!" The twins yelled over the noise.

"They have a point, Kingsley" Harry piped up. "We don't need anyone else captured…" He murmured to Ron. Ron mumbled in agreement.

"I've thought about that already! What I want-"

"So are we going?" Sirius piped up.

"What I want-" Kingsley started again.

"We'll go!" The twins joined in.

"WHAT I WANT!" Kingsley roared glaring at the crowd in annoyance. The twins looked sheepish at the sudden outburst and kept their eyes on the table.

"Is to have a group scout the area, Oxford is large and we have no idea where he is actually going…" He continued.

"Doesn't he live there? We can just apparate to his address." One member interrupted. A few around him nodded in agreement.

"Well that's how I caught it out really, Yaxley has a large property on the outskirts of Dover where his wife currently lives. Unless he has some secret mistress we don't know about –"

"Wouldn't be surprised" George snorted.

"- Well we will find out either way." Kingsley gave a slight smirk.

"Right!" Moody boomed, disrupting the room's slight upheaval. "Diggle, Kingsley and Black you're on scout."

Ron and Harry stood up at the same time looking incensed at the choice.

"We are coming too and you can't stop us!" Ron snarled at the older man. Molly hissed at him to show some manners but the second youngest Weasley paid no attention. Moody's eye stared at Ron, his scarred face morphed into a frown. He opened his mouth to retaliate.

"You heard him" Harry sniped, "You can't keep us cooped up in here when this is the first lead we have had in ages! She is our best friend and we will be right there on the front lines!"

"You're both too young! You shouldn't have been out in the first place!" Molly cried out, her face had turned red and blotchy and she was holding onto Arthur with a desperate intensity. Her husband looked at Ron pleadingly.

"No Mum, Dad." Ron said firmly. "This is war, we will keep going out and fighting, no matter how often you try to stop us, or argue."

"We have survived so far Molly, all of us. And I know Hermione is not dead," Harry continued, Lupin opened his mouth to contest but continued. "She's not. She's a fighter and we will fight to get her back. OK?"

The rest of the room had quietened down at the sudden outburst at the end of the table. It wasn't uncommon to see arguments between the Weasley parents and children.

Harry looked at Moody and with a firm finality declared. "We are going."

.

.

"Do you think that's it?" Ron whispered to Harry. They had been searching the suburb of Oxford all night without success, the early hours of the morning had crept up on the group. They snuck around corners, under disillusionment charms, their bodies shaking from hours of cold exposure.

"I hope so," Harry mumbled back. "Can't you feel it?"

"Feel what?"

"There's magic around here. I think he's been here…"

"I can't feeling anything, actually take that back. I feel fucking cold."

"Ditto, let's go find the others. They might be able to notice any magical traces better than us."

"Right you are."

The two boys crept back down the street whispering ever so softly for Kingsley and the others.

"Harry!" A whisper came out of the dark.

"Kingsley? Sirius?" Harry whispered back.

There was a soft " _oof!"_ and the sound of bodies hitting the pavement.

"Ouch!" Ron hissed, "who just ran into me?"

"That was me you twat" Sirius groaned.

"Shut up, it wasn't my fault!"

"Nobody move! We don't need any more accidents" Dedalus Diggle squeaked quietly from off to the right.

"Or to alert anyone of our presence," Harry sighed, looking back down the street, his eyes squinted through the dark looking for any sign of movement on the street.

"Anyone found anything?" Kingsley asked.

"Yeah, we did" Ron replied.

"Do tell, Weasley" Sirius whispered enthusiastically.

"Well we were down Wilkin Way when Harry said he felt something off with one of the houses."

"I sensed magic" Harry butted in, feeling slightly awkward with Ron's wording. "But I'm not sure, I wanted one of you to go and check it out."

"I'll go" Kingsley answered, "wait here everyone, and don't move."

Sirius sighed at the order, Harry heard a small thud. His godfather assumedly sat down to wait it out.

"God I hope it is the house" Sirius whispered to no one in particular, "It's been a while since I've been able to stun someone."

"Me too" Ron added fervently.

It was indeed the house, for Kingsley returned a few minutes later slightly puffed but sounding jubilant. "Let's get back to the Order! It's the house" He whispered enthusiastically.

The five of them moved a few streets away from the house and apparated back to headquarters. The kitchen was again alive with planning and delegating, people were writing notes and sending them across the room. Lupin and Moody stood at the end of the table deep in discussion.

"We've found it!" Kingsley cried out across the room. The room filled with roars of delight and clapping. The energy level was high and contagious, making Harry and Ron smile. Maybe there was hope after all. .

.

The now lifeless body fell to the ground with a crash, the man's eyes glossed over unstaring, the last gasp of life ghosted his face.

"Let that be a lesson to you all" Voldemort began quietly, walking around small mound of bodies in the middle of the room. His dark cloak fluttered around his bare feet, they were splatted with the blood of his most recent victims. Nagini hissed in delight at the pooling blood.

"When I ask for a job to be done. I expect it to be done." His red eyes scanned the room. Men and Women avoided his eyes in fear.

He suddenly gave a short, high laugh. It rung out across the room. There were a few gasps and cringes at the sudden displeasing noise.

"Roldolphus!" He turned on the man.

"Yes, my lord?" He replied smoothly, looking his master straight in the eye.

"It is funny, isn't it…" Voldemort mused.

"Funny? My Lord?" He questioned, looking over at his wife in confusion, she looked ahead at The Dark Lord with crazed yet confused eyes.

"I have taken control of the entire country," He walked back towards the pile of bodies. "I have hundreds of supporters all working for the right cause and yet…" He raised his wand, with it the limp bodies floated in the air, blood splattered onto the grimy floor. With one flick of his wand, all six bodies flew towards the wall, in a sickening crunch they hit simultaneously and dropped to the floor with a thud. "…we still continue to fail."

There was a sharp knock on the door, Voldemort snapped out of his reverie and flung the door open with his wand. In its frame stood Yaxley, his fist raised mid-knock.

"Ah, Yaxley" Voldemort greeted.

"My Lord" He bowed and entered the room.

"Yaxley here, unlike the pestilence behind me… is to be congratulated on his efforts in rounding up inferiors."

"Thank you, My Lord!" He gushed suddenly, and knelt on the dirty floor.

"In the past week has rounded up in excess of one hundred and fifty inferiors." There were a few murmurs of praise from the people around him. He beamed like a child receiving candy.

However it was short lived. The house gave an almighty shake, dust fell from the rafters and rained down on the crowd. Voldemort walked towards the window and looked out on the grounds.

"It appears, Yaxley… that you have brought some unwanted guests with you." Voldemort sneered. "Everyone go down and greet our guests! Capture as many as you can, and if you fail I will kill you myself!" He ordered the group.

The group began evacuating the room and the sound of war drifted up through the floor boards. Bella had left in the craze, intent on spilling blood. Roldolphus, Snape, and Avery remained in the room with Voldemort, watching the doors and windows.

"My Lord," Snap began, "should you not leave? The boy might not even be here, leave it to us."

"No I think I will wait, the Mudblood sidekick of his was taken wasn't she?"

"Yes she was."

"Then he will be here." He turned and raised his wand towards the pile of bodies again. Giving a small swish of his wand, the pile rose. The bodies began twisting and turning in the air, arms bending out of shape, legs snapping in on themselves.

Snape cringed at the gruesome act and averted his eyes back to the door. The sound of snapping bones and squishing of flesh eventually stopped. He turned back and bore witness to a horrendous sight, the bodies had entwined themselves into a chair, their bodies frozen in place. Voldemort had seated himself, stroking Nagini's head as she curled up in his lap.

The sound of the fight was getting louder and louder, moving its way up through the house. The view from the window showed at least ten dead on the ground below, not including in the house. In the early morning light it was hard to discern who was a Death Eater and who was from the Order.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" The voice bellowed outside the door. A mixture of coloured lights flashed through the gap under the door. It groaned with the sudden pounding of spells. Snape and the other men held their wands high in anticipation. There was a loud thud and the door burst open.

The three men didn't hesitate, flaying their wands they sent curses flying through the door. The people in the hall had taken coverage on either side, occasionally their hands could be seen sending curses flying into the room. All the while Voldemort sat quietly watching the scene unfold.

Sirius and Remus came flying up the stairs and bolted straight at the door, the two of them sending curse after curse in succession. A nasty purple jinx hit Avery in the abdomen, he fell to the floor. His body seized and dark blood poured from his mouth.

"Cover us!" Sirius roared at the people behind the door.

Voldemort finally stood. Nagini took up residence on the human chair and hissed at the intruders. He stepped over the now dead Avery and began to attack.

His dueling far outweighed that of Lupin and Sirius, the two of them turned towards him, struggling to keep up with the onslaught of Dark curses.

The Weasley twins had been behind the door, seeing the two men in trouble they moved into the room and took on Roldolphus and Snape. The men panted and grunted as they bore the brute force of spell upon spell.

"Argh! We need back up! SOMEONE COME UP HERE, WE'VE GOT VOLDEMORT!" Fred screamed back towards the stairs.

Snape took that small momentary lapse in concentration as his advantage and sent a nasty cutting hex at Fred. He yelped and jumped out of the way; yet it skimmed his arm, leaving a deep gash, the blood sending a dark stain down his arm.

"You slimy git!" Fred roared in anger. His left arm was now useless, he sent multiple jinxes back at his ex-professor. Snape sneered at him and deflected the curses easily.

The fight was joined by Moody and Charlie Weasley. Noticing the younger boys struggling under Snape and Roldolphus's fire, Moody snarled and sent the unsuspecting Roldolphus flying into the wall behind him where he was knocked unconscious. Charlie had joined Remus and Sirius, both were now sporting nasty injuries.

"Where is Hermione!?" George yelled at Snape, now joining Fred and Moody. Snape had a scowl on his face, now having to fight three people at once. He didn't answer, but proceeded to fire even darker curses.

To his left, Snape saw Remus fall. Sirius howled in rage and sent the killing curse straight at Voldemort. Voldemort deflected it easily and laughed at the man's pain. Moody turned to Voldemort, he snarled and began firing, leaving the twins with Snape.

"You are a pureblood, Sirius. I don't want to spill magical blood." Voldemort snapped at the man in between firing.

"You bastard, you hypocrite!" Sirius roared.

"You know what I want. Where is the boy? I will save you and you friends, just give me the boy!" Voldemort snarled, his eyes flashed in anger.

"Shut up! JUST SHUT UP" Sirius roared.

His outburst echoed around the room causing Snape to look over in surprise, he saw Sirius leap at Voldemort, sending curses flying in every direction. Then he felt nothing but fire. His head had been split open, blood gushed down his face and covered one eye. He roared in anger and fired stunning curses one after the other at Fred.

He saw Fred's eyes widen, George tried to get in the way, but it was futile. He was knocked sideways, his head smacking the ground. The curse hit him straight in the chest and Fred crumpled to the ground. Grabbing the young man by his hair, he apparated away.

He wasn't going to kill him, he was going to make his life a living hell.

.

.

Snape made his way up the stairs, dragging Fred behind him. The warehouse was alive with the sound of anger and hatred towards him. He ignored it all, those that hurt him would pay. He had gone past the point of caring about the regime. He was out to save his own skin. He had no idea how the battle ended, or if it was still going.

"Draco," He barked. The young blonde looked up at him from the railing, his face was impassive. "Finish this one." He dropped Fred at Draco's feet and turned to leave. Draco levitated the man and walked towards the room.

"Oh and Draco," Snape called.

"Yes?"

"Finish the Mudblood once you're done with this one." He marched down the stairs with finality and through the building.

Fred remained unconscious throughout the ordeal, his magic was retrieved and bottled and Draco sent him through the back door to be taken to the camp. He moved slowly afterwards procrastinating going down to get the girl.

He didn't know why he was procrastinating. She was an inferior and her blood was the lowest of low, he'd rather befriend a muggle over her any day.

 _Or maybe it's not the fact she's a Mudblood._

He cringed internally, _what the hell kind of thought was that? Of course it's because she's a Mudblood_. He glared at the pepper up potion sitting in front of him. _Not because she practically beat you in every single class… except flying? Or the fact your father completely degraded you the moment he found out?_ He slammed the empty potion bottle onto the table.

"Fuck it." He mumbled to himself.

He walked down the stairs and straight to her compound. She was still at the fence line, in her craze she was almost unrecognizable, her eyes were bloodshot and wide open, a constant stream of tears. Some of the women were holding her back, making sure she didn't try climb the fence to an imminent death by electrocution. She had fistfuls of her own hair, pulling at it, trying to somehow divert her emotional pain to something physical.

He felt pity, and it was strange. Pity for someone so beneath him, pity for what she was about to become. And he pitied himself, for being put on this job.

She saw him through the tears, her face morphed from distress to pure hatred and she began to scream, elbowing women in the face in a bid of liberation.

"LET ME GO!" Spit flew in his face as she continued to scream.

He cringed in disgust and ordered her to be levitated to the second level. He wouldn't do it himself, he was in charge, he was in control of her… yet he felt nothing but absolute self-hatred. Her passion and fire burnt him at the stake, he felt he was in the wrong. _She's in the wrong!_ He mentally yelled.

Following the floating girl upstairs, her limbs were splayed out, kicking the air, she screamed every profanity she knew at him. With each step his self-hatred grew, hatred at the lives he had destroyed, but more so at his current thought pattern. It was wrong, it was against everything he believed in. _Everything you were lead to believe… not chose to believe._

She had been chained the low table, she was straining against the shackles, her wrists and ankles quickly rubbing raw and bleeding. She saw Draco and stopped struggling, instead she glared at him. He stared right back.

"Just hurry up and kill me" She said, her voice was hollow, defeated.

"I'm not going to kill you." He replied shortly. He went to the cupboard and got out a flask and labelled it under Hermione's name.

"What are you doing?" She asked, panic laced her voice, her face tried to hide it.

"None of your business."

"What did you do to Fred?! To the others… oh god, oh god." Tears slid down her cheeks. He sighed again, the self-hatred was completed intoxicating.

"I'm not going to die…" She mumbled to herself.

"It would be easier than this" he replied absentmindedly.

"Yes, it would" She replied.

He turned towards her, her wild hair was splayed around her face. She looked up at him through dark wet lashes.

Before he could help himself he blurted "I'm sorry… Granger." And before she could reply he had uttered the spell.

* * *

 **I suck at trying to make this a happy story... it will be a full happy dramione soon I promise! And the battle was confusing I know.. where was ron and harry? Don't worry you find out next chapter! Reviews are all the nicer.**


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